


Secrets and Sparkplugs

by Nuka_After_Dark



Series: Fallout 4 Ficlets, Drabbles, and One-shots [11]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: But it's mostly a raider getting a little rough, Could possibly be seen as domestic violence, Gen, Some violence but minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24985540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuka_After_Dark/pseuds/Nuka_After_Dark
Summary: The Overboss has been keeping a secret from her right-hand man, and he is determined to find out what it could possibly be.
Series: Fallout 4 Ficlets, Drabbles, and One-shots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807771
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Secrets and Sparkplugs

Gage almost felt bad for lying. Almost. After all, lying was a part of the job. But until that night, he had been nothing but truthful to the Overboss, hadn’t he?

He had told her that it wasn’t going to be easy establishing herself over the three gangs, and it hadn’t been despite his every effort to help her. 

He had told her that she would be walking around with the biggest target on her back, and how many times had she been attacked already? Not only by outsiders, but even by her own gangs that thought they could overthrow her. 

And he had told her that he would do anything for her, no matter what. And he had meant it, and that meant something to him.

And how about how she had told him everything about herself? About her childhood, her adventures and accomplishments growing up, things that she never told anyone else? Didn’t that mean anything to her anymore?

“Guess not,” Gage muttered to himself as he watched her form scrambling from shadow to shadow as she ran away from the Fizztop. He wanted to be angry, to chase her down and shake her until she was making sense, to tell her to stop whoring around that she was his now, dammit!

But he also didn’t want to believe it. She had given up far too much to be with him, hadn’t she? Why would she lose everything for… For what? A quick tumble with someone else?

No, she wasn’t that stupid. She might be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but she had to know he would notice if the spot beside him was suddenly empty and cold in the middle of the night, right?

Gage continued to watch as she left Nuka-Town, a bag strapped to her back and a blade in her hand and he had to wonder: What the hell was she up to?

Strapping his own rifle to his back, Gage made up his mind to follow her. If he caught her in the act, then oh well. He would miss her, but surely she could be replaced eventually, right? Not like it was hard to do a better job than Colter, anyways.

Gage was exhausted by the time they reached Bradberton. His feet were still aching from their walk around the bottling plant, and he was certain he had pulled something in the leg earlier from ducking into the shadow before she could spot him. He nearly let out a sigh of relief when she finally stopped at one of the more intact houses, slipping through the opened door and dragging her bag in behind her.

He waited only a minute before slipping in behind her.

“What the actual fuck are you doin’, boss?”

Nora leaped nearly a foot into the air, her wide eyes widening as she spotted Gage, the blade flying from her hand and impaling the wall beside his arm. To his credit, he didn’t flinch.

“Jesus, Gage! You scared the shit outta me!”

“Oh, I scared you? In the middle of all your goddamned sneaking around on me?” He could feel the anger he had been suppressing boiling up now. Rage clouded his mind, and his judgement. Stepping forward, he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. “I thought we were serious about this, boss. You and me. No one else.”

“What?” Her brow furrowed in confusion, only furthering his anger. He gave her a quick shake with the arm he held.

“Don’t you dare what me, boss. You been sneaking off to fuck someone else?”

“No!”

“Then why the hell ain’t you been telling me where you’re going?” His hand squeezed harder, pressing into her flesh until she finally gasped out. Realizing what he was doing, and how he was sounding, Gage released her and took a step back.

“Shit,” she muttered, rubbing her sore arm. “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m– I’m sorry, boss.” Gage rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her.

“Sorry? Sorry you nearly broke my fucking– No, you know what? Fuck you. You wanna see why I keep sneaking out? Fine. Come with me.” She turned on her heel and whispered something under her breath before storming toward another open door.

Gage followed Nora into the basement, the stairs illuminated by the light of her Pip-Boy and a naked bulb that flickered further into the room, hanging right above something he had only ever seen pictures of before.

“Is that…?” He couldn’t find the words to ask, all he could do was stare.

“Yeah, it’s a car. Something I found and thought you might like.” Nora reached up to squeeze her own arm gently and hissed. “I’ve been working on it for months. I wanted to get it all fixed up before you saw it but I had to wait for Shelbie to get the parts. You’re so fucking welcome. Asshole.”

If Gage was phased by the insult he didn’t show it. All he showed was his awe as he circled the vehicle, his fingers tentatively grazing the paint, dipping in the dips and rising on the bumps. She had been working on this for him? She had been working on it for months? 

That explained why she looked more tired than usual. And it explained why she was much more meticulous and odd about the scrap she collected. Hell, it explained a lot of things really. Things that Gage was just realizing he had been adding up all wrong.

Feeling like a kicked puppy, he turned to Nora to find her glaring at a spot above his head. Pissed enough to not look at him, but forgiving enough to not look away from his completely.

“Shit, boss. I– I didn’t know. I thought….”

“Thought I was runnin’ ‘round on you?” She looked at him again, her eyes hard. “If I was gonna do that I would be a lot more open about it. Like doing it in our bed when I know you’re coming back.”

Gage could feel his face heating up and knew he was blushing. Rather than looking at the Overboss again he turned his attention back to the car.

He didn’t know much about cars himself, but he figured it was a Corvega from pictures he had seen of them before. This one was painted a dark colour, black or blue he couldn’t tell, and had been polished until he could almost see his own reflection.

“I didn’t know you knew much about cars,” he admitted, finishing his walk around and stopping before Nora again. “Shit, now I don’t know what to say.”

“How about ‘sorry’?”

Gage nodded but didn’t speak. Sorry wasn’t exactly in his sincere vocabulary, but as he saw her arm already starting to bruise he knew it was the least he could do. “I’m sorry, Nora.”

“Hmm. Open that door, pull the lever, and pop the hood. I got the last thing I needed. I was going to bring you out tomorrow but you’re here now, so….”

Gage did as instructed, sitting in the driver seat and running his hands up and down the steering wheel in awe. He’d sat in some older cars as a kid, ones that his dad was tearing apart for scrap to sell to the traveling merchants growing up, but he had never imagined he might sit in one that someone was actually putting back together. And putting it back together for him?

Guilt started to set in as he thought to how hard he had tried to scare and even hurt the woman that was currently half inside the car, banging and clanging away. After a few minutes she appeared beside the door, a smear of grease gracing her forehead. He focused on it rather than her eyes as she nodded at him.

“Turn the key. Might have to hold it a minute.”

Gage turned his attention back to the steering column and found the key, giving it a hard turn. The sound of an engine turning over filled the room and his face split into a grin.

“Holy shit,” he laughed, forgetting the events of earlier for just a moment. “Does it actually drive?”

“I dunno,” Nora admitted, pushing off the door and walking to the furthest side of the room where she grabbed a chain and pulled. A large door, so covered in dirt and dust it was no wonder the raider hadn’t noticed it before, began to rise. As soon as the door was completely opened, Nora walked over to the passenger side door and jerked it open before slipping into the seat, her bag forgotten. “Push the pedal on the left and pull this,” she tapped a stick coming off the steering column, “Down for three clicks.”

As Gage followed her directions he felt the car jerking beneath him. Unsure if that was normal he glanced at the woman beside him. She was looking straight forward expectantly.

“Take your foot off the brake and put it on the other pedal. The gas. Push it gently.”

Gage did as told and nearly exclaimed as the car started to move forward. Pressing down a little more it moved a little quicker. Soon they were leaving the garage and heading out into the dark town of Bradberton.

“Well,” Nora said as they rolled along in the dark, “There we have it. A newer, quicker way of getting ‘round. A Highwayman, I think they call it.”

“‘A Highwayman,’” Gage repeated, unable to keep the smile off his face as he pressed on the gas even harder, going even faster. It was like a dream come true for him. “Holy shit, boss.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nora allowed a little smile of her own to form although she did cross her arms over her chest. “Still think I’m whoring ‘round?”

“What?” Gage dared to glance at her for a moment before turning his eye back to the open world before him. “That? Shit, nah. I just– I’ve had it happen to me before, you know? Young and dumb and in love. She, uh, ran off with an older man. Guess I wasn’t as over it as I thought I was.”

“Shit happens,” Nora sighed, placing a hand on his thigh and squeezing. He eased his foot off the gas and allowed the vehicle to slow down some. “But you ever grab me like that again I can promise it’s gonna be the last thing you ever do.”

“Understood,” Gage said as he tried the other pedal. He let out a grunt of surprise as the car jerked to a stop, made an odd noise, then no noise at all. “What the–”

“And you killed it,” Nora laughed, rubbing her forehead from where it had hit the dash at the sudden stop. Gage could feel the colour drain from his face as he realized what he had done. It was then that Nora began to laugh again. “I’m fucking with you, shit. Turn the key again.”

Uncertain, and unamused, Gage turned the key again. Once more the Highwayman roared to life. Nora chuckled as the car began to roll forward without assistance.

“Alright, big guy. Give it some gas and let’s head back to Nuka-Town. Gotta show off my man and my ride to everyone now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to check out my Tumblr, nuka-after-dark to see more of my works not posted here or to request a work of your own!


End file.
